A Whole New World
by Stratusfied247
Summary: This is General Hospital done all over again. Inside, there's a wide variety of storylines, multiple players, and all the fun that used to be General Hospital before TIIC got ahold of it. So, go forward, if you dare, and take a trip back in time.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes: This is sort of AU-ish, as that it's still partially the Port Charles that we know, but the people are vastly different. For starters, Sam McCall is Robin Scorpio's half-sister and was a part of the teen group of the early 90s. Stone Cates is in this story, and he won't be dying of AIDS. Whether he actually contracts HIV or not is still up for grabs, but know that I don't plan to kill him off. There are other things that will be changed, as I'm going to be playing with the timeline and adjusting when certain things happened. The AJ Quartermaine I'm using in this story is the AJ that was played by Sean Kanan. The Carly that I'll be using will be Sarah Brown. Any other notes will be added as necessary. For now, though, I think that's enough information to start the story. Things are explained as the story goes along.

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**_

"I've had to contend with a lot since coming to Port Charles, but this… No, this isn't necessary, isn't happening, and damned if I'm not about to scream and shout even if I have absolutely no right to do so."

Samantha McCall was a tiny woman, but her temper gave her the feeling of at least another four or five inches. As she ranted, her head shook and caused her hair to move from side to side. It was as though her own, private wind was blowing her raven locks behind her. Her tiny frame was rigid, and she was sure that the only way to loosen it up was to punch Keesha Ward right in the face.

"This is because I dated AJ in high school, isn't it? Jesus! It's not like it lasted forever! It didn't even last three months! And… it was his own fault. I mean, he could have taken care of it easily, right? He could have paid me a little bit of attention instead of getting caught up with Brenda and chasing after Karen. But, he ignored me, so I went to the next best thing."

"AJ."

"Exactly! And I'd say that Jason was just returning the favor in a half-assed attempt… if Keesha Ward were even in my league! I don't like her, plain and simple. She's just so… so… perfect! It's like you, but worse. No offense, but until he came along, Uncle Mac didn't think you could do a single thing wrong in your life. And no offense to you, either."

Robin Scorpio and Stone Cates paid her no mind. Stone was quickly adjusting to her rants, especially considering that lately they heavily involved his estranged brother, Jagger. Robin, on the other hand, had been adjusting for the past couple of years. She'd had enough time to get used to the rants and ravings of the lunatic that showed up and, literally, became her sister.

Their father was dead, and often, Robin had wondered if Robert Scorpio had died with the knowledge of his eldest daughter's birth. She had never been mentioned, and she didn't think her father would have left something like that out. On the other hand, she hadn't exactly been known from day one, either. There was still a lot about her parents that Robin was uncertain about, and Sam's existence was just one of them.

Robin and Sam only shared one parent, but it was enough to bring them together. Sam started off angry that she'd been dumped on the doorstep of a horrible mother, but finding out that one's father was dead had a way of changing attitudes. Or at least making anger soften a bit. Robin had been given more time to adjust to the death of her parents. Sam had about the ten minutes it took Mac Scorpio to go all the way around the world and finally let his newly discovered neice in on the news.

The relationship had been tentative, at first. It didn't matter much to Sam that Robin hadn't known Robert forever, either. The point, to her, was that Robin had him for a while and all Sam got was a nosy uncle and some pictures. Not to mention that she still hadn't managed to find her mother. After a while, though, she'd come around and now, the only person closer to Robin than Sam was Brenda Barrett. She and Sam were close enough that her big sister was more than happy to cover for her when she wanted to spend time with the unacceptable boyfriend. Considering what they were talking about currently, though, Robin probably could have done without the help.

"I've been called worse," Stone said with a shrug. "Or at least, I think I have. Mac's said some things…"

"That shouldn't be said considering his friends and relatives, I know." Sam rolled her eyes. "It's just… this is so wrong. I should be with Jason, not her."

"Sam…" Robin sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say. I mean, you say that Keesha's too perfect, but isn't Jason the same way? Isn't that the reason everybody crushed on him in high school?"

"Maybe that's the reason you crushed on him," she told her with a smirk. "I crushed because he was rich and in love with somebody else. Pretty much the same reason I dated AJ. And he dated me because I wanted Jason." Sam paused, furrowed her brow for a second, then shook her head. "There's seriously something wrong with that family."

"It's the Quartermaines," Robin said with a shrug. "Tell me something new."

"Here's something, new or not. Jason needs somebody that's not so damned perfect that she elevates his perfection. He needs somebody that's gonna dirty him up a little bit." Sam tossed Robin and Stone a quick glance before she started to pace the living room again. She wanted to get back on point before Stone picked up on the 'crushing Jason' part of the conversation and the two of them fell into something sickeningly cute. "How he managed to survive in that house with Edward as an influence and not be dirty is beyond me."

"The same way you spent a couple of years living with Uncle Mac and didn't bend to his insistence that you were better than half the stuff you got caught doing, and all the stuff you didn't get caught doing. Sheer luck and some part force of will."

"Yeah, well… my will is strong." Sam stared out the window of her little room and groaned. The view from Kelly's was horrible. The view from anywhere was probably horrible, but from there she couldn't see anything but the next building over. Wonderful. But, then again, it was this or keep living with Mac. Sam had grown to love her uncle, but he drove her insane.

"So strong, in fact, that some way or another, I'm gonna get Jason Quartermaine away from her."

"Ya know, you could always go back to AJ. He's a good guy. He just needs some help sometimes. That house…" Robin shook her head. "It doesn't do him a single bit of good."

Sam shrugged. She felt bad for AJ, but… She was still under the belief that enough money could fix any problems, and the Quartermaines definitely had enough. "Maybe," she said wistfully, "but in the end, it's not AJ that I want. It's his brother."


	2. Chapter 2

"Busy?" Sam leaned forward, her forearms pressed flat against the counter. If she were any shorter, she wouldn't have been able to see over the top of the counter. As it were, she could just barely keep her line of sight up without craning her neck all the way back.

"Jason's not here, Sam, and he has no reason to be here. School." AJ Quartermaine groaned and turned away from her. "So, unless you're here to see Grandfather, you should probably leave. Besides, I don't think he and Ned would assume you're our kind of clientelle."

Sam's eyes narrowed, then slowly opened. "Okay, AJ, I see how it is. Not that I can blame you or anything. I guess I've been pretty shitty to you."

"Ya think?" He turned back around and thrust his right hand through fine, blonde hair. "I'm getting really tired of being your consolation prize, you know that? Between you and Brenda, I've finally gotten it. It's not just my house where I'm second best. I get it, so could you stop rubbing it in?"

Sam took a step back and blinked rapidly. Robin had told her just about the same thing about AJ since he and Sam first dated in high school, but Sam had never actually heard him complain about it. He would usually just stand off by himself and give spiteful looks to his little brother, or mutter under his breath. Sam supposed that he had at least one person he confided in, probably Lila, but she was pretty sure that she, herself, wasn't anywhere near confidante where AJ were concerned.

"Whoa, now, hold on a minute." Sam held her hands up in defense. "Did I say anything at all about Jason?" Granted, she was planning to ask if he'd seen him, but she wasn't about to do that, now. "I thought we were friends, AJ. Can't I stop by and say hi to a friend?"

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying." AJ stepped to the side and flipped up the opening to the desk. He walked around the counter, then leaned against it. "I'm tired of convenient friends, too."

"Jesus, AJ, what's up your butt?" Sam sighed and folded her arms. She switched her weight to the right and found herself leaning against the counter. "I'm bored, and unlike the rest of the people we graduated with, I didn't go to college. So, I'm bored."

"So, you visit me at work because you're bored. Wonderful." He rolled his eyes. "You know, you could try finding a job. I hear that works wonders for boredom."

"And what kind of job do you think I'm really cut out for, huh, AJ? I mean, we all know I just barely made it through high school. I'm not exactly qualified to do all that much, and Karen already took my wonderfully waiting job at Kelly's. I swear, Ruby just gave her that job so I couldn't have it."

"Ruby gave her the job because she was here first, and she's dependable. You? Not so much."

"Oh, and you're oh so dependable? Come on, AJ. The only reason you have a job is because you're a Quartermaine. You didn't wanna go to PCU, and Edward gave you a perfect out. Time for you to move up in ELQ. So, don't give me that line about dependability 'cause you, my friend, are not dependable at all."

"Thanks, friend," AJ said sarcastically. "I'm really glad I have a friend like you. And I know you came here looking for Jason. I already told you where he was, so why don't you go and find him? Leave me out of whatever you two start up this time. I've got enough problems."

"Aw, what's the matter, AJ? You wanna talk about it?" He looked at her with cynical eyes and she asked, "What? I said we're friends, and this is what friends do. We talk."

"Uh huh. And they ask for stuff. You want something, Sam, I know it."

"Now, what makes you think that? I can't just be your friend?"

"Like I said, friends are convenient, and usually with you, we're friends when it's convenient. Now, whatever you want is going to fall into one of three categories. Money, sex, or other. So, come on, Sam. Which is it?"

Her mouth opened wide with shock. Not that he was wrong, necessarily, but because he was so blunt about it. Sam was starting to wonder if all the time AJ had been forced to spend with his cousin, Ned, was actually a good idea. She liked AJ a lot better when he wasn't so combustible. Or maybe she was giving Ned's influence too much credit, and AJ was just drinking again. Either was completely possible, and one wasn't more probable than the other.

"Are you drinking again, AJ?" If he could be blunt, then so could she. "Because if you are, I think you really need to talk to somebody about that."

"Jesus, Sam, first you come here denying you're looking for Jason when I know you are, and now you accuse me of drinking. Yeah, you're really endearing yourself to me, Sam."

"I'm just askin', because you know as well as I do that you're not usually this blunt and just… rude." She sighed. "This is about Jason and Keesha, isn't it?" If it wasn't Ned, and it wasn't alcohol, then that left only one thing. "I swear, I don't see what it is that you Quartermaines think is so great about her. And now, you're being all shitty to me, why. Because you want Keesha and you can't have her. Sounds like a repeat of high school to me."

"It's not about to be a repeat, though, because I'm not going to sleep with you to make my brother and his latest girl wonder jealous again. Didn't work last time, and I really don't feel like getting involved with that kind of thing again."

"Why do you always think the worst of me, AJ? I mean, I come here in friendship…"

"And there it is again, so pick a category. Money, sex, or other, because I've got work to do, Sam, and I'm not being paid to have this conversation with you."

"Ya know, AJ, you're the one that's brought up sex and money, not me." Sam sighed. "But, if you're offering money, I'll take some. Or a job. You do have hiring power here, ya know. Wouldn't it be great working together? Come on, AJ. You know you've missed me."

"Like a stay in rehab," he muttered with a groan. "So, it's money you're after. And you're looking for Jason… because you know he'll give it to you?"

"I'm not looking for Jason!" Again, so maybe she'd started off that way, but now… AJ had turned it into almost a battle. She was going to get something else out of this visit, something other than Jason, just because AJ was being obstinate. Sam took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. When she was calm, she said, "How do you know I'm not here for all three?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we were hot together, AJ. Remember the jacuzzi in the middle of winter?" She winked and then laughed as AJ started to blush. "Now, that's the AJ Quartermaine I'm used to." She grinned. "And well, money's always good, and I do need a job. Uncle Mac's this close to cutting me off completely if I don't start doing something on my own. So there's your sex, and your money."

"What about other?"

"Well…" Sam smirked as she stood up straight and closed the distance between her and AJ. She reached out and played with his tie for a second, before flattening it against his chest. She kept her palm pressed against him and said, "I haven't figured that part out yet, but if it's necessary, I'm sure I can think of something else."

AJ looked down at her and his breath was shallow. She was so much shorter than him that his neck ached slightly with the bend. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "You're gonna drive me to drink, you know that?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe not. If I do, it'll be a long time coming, though. And really, AJ, you gotta admit it wasn't that bad being with me before. When we were good, we were really good. And when we were bad…" She clenched his tie in her fist and jerked him down towards her with enough force he stumbled. "We were even better." And she kissed him.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you're doing it again, huh?"

Sam turned to the side and groaned. Considering how long she'd been trying to get into Jason Quartermaine's pants, she probably should have smiled. Part of her did want to smile. After all, she was alone in Kelly's and Jason was sans Keesha. She was free to flirt if she wanted to. Problem was, right then, she didn't really want to flirt.

It was going to be pretty hard to steal Jason away from Keesha if she couldn't look at him and groan with the thought of Ms. Ward. He just seemed to have the girl's taint on him. Like it was going to be hard as hell to get him away from her because she'd rubbed her perfection off on him. That was just too much perfection for one person to take. That was like, perfection squared.

But, she still wanted him. She wanted to take Jason, and get rid of about seventy percent of the perfection. Just wipe it off and dirty him up some. Yet, she didn't want to completely change him. She still wanted him to have a good heart. She still wanted him to be smart and caring. She just wanted him to be a little more like AJ. Not a functional alcoholic, but a little more free. He was so damned uptight sometimes, usually when Keesha was around, and sometimes he could be so condescending. But, still—

"And what would that be?" She turned back around and slouched in her chair. "Drinking coffee? I drink coffee all the time."

"AJ." Jason sat across from her and Sam sighed. "You remember the last time the two of you hooked up? It wasn't pretty."

"Well, it's not really any of your business, is it?" She rotated her cup in her hands. "You don't have any say in who I see, and you really don't have a say in what AJ does. Maybe we like each other. I realize that none of you people like AJ, but it's a novel concept, don't you think?"

"It's got nothing to do with. AJ—" Jason shook his head. "AJ's fragile, Sam. I don't know if he can take another round of McCall rejection."

"You're telling me about AJ being rejected? Please." She rolled her eyes. "Don't come at me like you give a damn what happens to AJ."

"He's my brother, Sam. Of course, I care."

"Oh, that's right. You always care. You love everybody, and you want everybody to have the perfect life." Sam sat up straight, then leaned forward, elbows propped on the table. "Or maybe you're jealous. Is that it, Jason? Are you jealous that, for the second time, AJ gets me, and it's too late for you?"

"I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, believe me, I know." She sighed and shook her head. "What is it, Jason? Am I not good enough for you? Am I not perfect enough? Let me tell you, I'm really tired of not being perfect enough."

She probably should have just stuck with AJ. They had enough in common. Neither was perfect enough for their families. Neither was perfect enough for the one they really wanted. But, they were too much alike. If they didn't drive each other crazy, Sam would, at least, drive AJ to drink. In the end, they wouldn't just get on each other's nerves. They would know how much alike they are and get on their own nerves. If nobody else liked them, they at least had to like themselves.

"What's with this need to be perfect, huh?" Jason ran his hands through his hair and Sam forcibly stopped herself from going to mush. His hair was soft, she knew that from when they all played as friends and she'd given him a thunk on the back of the head. But, when he pulled it back from his face, his eyes seemed brighter. "It's not all it's cracked up to be, ya know."

"So, you're with Keesha because you can both understand the difficulty of being perfect? I feel so sorry for both of you." Sam rolled her eyes. "Ya know, it wouldn't hurt you to stray from perfection once in a while."

"What was I supposed to do, Sam? When you wanted me, I wanted Karen. When I wanted you, you were with AJ. Then, AJ did his thing with Brenda, and you thought it'd be fun to get in the middle of that. Now that I'm with Keesha, you act like I've done you wrong. What was I supposed to do? Wait around? Or better yet, fight AJ for you?"

"Yes!" Sam growled and shook her head. "I don't know. I just-- I don't know, Jason." She let out a heavy breath. "It's the principle of the thing, now. Keesha can't have you all to herself because I was here first. Or maybe it's because I wanna be a better person. Me and AJ…"

She stopped and Jason prompted her, "What?"

"AJ and I are going to self-destruct. We always will when we're together, because we're not going to push each other to be more, to be better. We know we're screwed up. We know each other is screwed up. We're too eager to let the other one be whatever they are, because if we change them, we have to change ourselves."

"So, it's not work to be with AJ?"

"No, it's not, and ya know, I think you think the same with Keesha. It's not work. She's easy to be with because she's just like you, and AJ's easy to be with because he's just like me. But, maybe, you could make me be better."

"You don't need me to be a better person, Sam. You can do that all on your own. You're strong enough for that. And if you think you're not, what about Robin? I know she's tried to help."

"Robin's family. I'm used to ignoring what family wants me to be." She shrugged. "Besides, I think I've done the corrupting there. Sure, Stone's gotten her to do a lot of things she shouldn't do, but I help her get away with a lot of it. I'm not exactly the most responsible person. Instead of becoming more like her, she's becoming more like me."

"You both need to stay who you are. You're just fine exactly the way you are. There really isn't a need to change."

"Then why wasn't I ever good enough for you?" Sam sighed, then waved a hand. "I know, you say that the timing was never right, but if you really were interested in me, you'd have done something."

"I'm not going to fight AJ over you."

"Why not? You did for Keesha. You knew he was interested in her and she just—She started off all googly-eyed over AJ, and then not ten minutes later, she's ready for you. AJ wasn't good enough for her, but you know what? She's not good enough for him. She's not good enough for either of you."

"But you're good enough for both of us."

"Damn right, I am." Sam picked up her cup and blew on it unnecessarily. It had sat long enough to be cooled on its own. "I should get my pick of the Quartermaine boys, but instead, I go with the one that actually shows that he doesn't mind me the way I am instead of the one who tells me that he doesn't and makes excuses for why I've never been good enough in the first place."


End file.
